Neck pain doing leg presses...

Yesterday was leg day, I did my squats and power cleans no problem. I moved on to leg press (3 sets of 10) on my last set and last rep I was straining HARD and about halfway up I got an extreme pain on the rear left side of my neck, up into the entire rear of my head. It felt like the back of my head was going to explode! I got off the leg press and sat down, the pressure in my head went away but the neck pain was still there.

My head was slightly of the pad and I was looking forward (how I've always done them.) I may have been holding my breath but I honestly can't remember.

What the hell happened to me!?

By the way this is NOT the first time something like this has happened. About 3 years ago I got the exact pain in my neck without the exploding head feeling doing leg presses! Also every now and then I get minor neck pain doing random exercises but if I stretch my neck it goes away.

The first time it happened I went to the chiropractor and my family doc. Chiropractor worked on my neck but doc said it was a pinched nerve and gave me muscle relaxers (flexeril). I took the relaxers & refrained from lifting for a week and I haven't experienced the extreme pain again until today.

Current supps are DTH, Creatine mono, No-Explode (may as well be kool-aid! back to white flood for me!), cissus, fish oil, multi-vit.

The only "new" supp to me in there was no-explode but I really can't see that being the culprit since I've had similar problems before.

Next time keep your head on the pad. You most likely just strained something in your neck. It's happened to me before, it's happened to guys I've lifted with, and I've seen it posted on the forums before. Don't sweat it, be more careful next time.

What kind of neck pain? Is it a stinging, or burning, or like on the outside just in the muscle, or is it in the spinal cord, like feels like its in it or a weird sense of it being on it.

Well when it happened, it went from about mid trap all the way up into the back of my head. In the neck/trap area it was more of a burning sensation I guess, but in my head it felt like extreme pressure as if it was a balloon about to burst. It is definitely not in my spinal cord.

Breathing is in on the eccentric out on the concentric. Although I was probably holding my breath as I was straining to get the last rep.

I think that having my head off the pad and straining so hard may have been what did it.

Yesterday and today were ok... I still have a slight sensation of pain in my neck while exercising but it is manageable. Alternating ice/heat, ibuprofen during the day and a flexeril at night seem to be helping.

From another website:
In the neck, the base of the skull rests on bones called the atlas masses, which fix the skull to the first cervical vertebrae. The atlas masses are actually extremely tiny when you imagine the weight that they support all day, they're about the size of the wishbone of a small chicken. Sometimes, these bones can actually become wedged up under the base of the skull and compresses the spinal cord. That's why your headache is so severe. Also, you probably will feel extremely week from head toe to with your head tilted back.

This is also supposed to help:

Levator Scapulae/Upper Trap Stretch. I can't find a good link, but it is in magnificent mobility and Eric Cressey's maximum strength book. Just put one arm behind your back like your getting handcuffed and use the other one to push your head forward.

I have the same issue, and again this morning on leg press. Pain so extreme I stopped my workout.

My guess would be levator scapulae. Don't go crazy stretching it, you should probably get it massaged and try to get the muscle to chill out and not spasm due to the injury. As it heals, you can stretch it.

How to prevent it. Keep your chin tucked. By this I mean stand (or sit) with your head level (i.e.: eyes facing straight ahead). Now pull your head back as if you are trying to make your chin disapear. Feel the tense contraction of the deep cervical flexor muscles. These work antagonist the strenocliendomastoid and LS muscle. Do this while lift and it will help the SCM and LS to chill out (reciprical inhibition). Also, make sure you are always keeping your head level and straight...don't be turning to the side while lifting.

My guess would be levator scapulae. Don't go crazy stretching it, you should probably get it massaged and try to get the muscle to chill out and not spasm due to the injury. As it heals, you can stretch it.

How to prevent it. Keep your chin tucked. By this I mean stand (or sit) with your head level (i.e.: eyes facing straight ahead). Now pull your head back as if you are trying to make your chin disapear. Feel the tense contraction of the deep cervical flexor muscles. These work antagonist the strenocliendomastoid and LS muscle. Do this while lift and it will help the SCM and LS to chill out (reciprical inhibition). Also, make sure you are always keeping your head level and straight...don't be turning to the side while lifting.

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Thanks because I did a follow up workout and elected to move my head from side to side in an effort to reduce the tensioning I was feeling in my neck area.